Pee-wee Harris, F.O.B. Bridgeboro

Pee-wee Harris is the kind of boy who can turn any ordinary day into an expedition. When he's not dreaming up get-rich-quick schemes or convincing his fellow Boy Scouts that his latest plan is foolproof, he's dragging his friends into some misadventure that always seems to spiral magnificently out of control. Set in the small town of Bridgeboro, this story captures the irrepressible energy of boyhood in early 20th century America: the camping trips, the campgroundarguments, the loyalty that holds a group of friends together through every spectacular disaster. Pee-wee is equal parts irritating and lovable, a dreamer who never quite learns that his schemes have a way of backfiring. Yet there's something winning about his relentless optimism. For readers who grew up on boys' adventure stories, or anyone who remembers what it felt like to be young and certain that the next great adventure was just around the corner.